Macroporous SiC Formation in Anodizing Triggered by Irradiation-Induced Lattice Defects

Silicon carbide (SiC) attracts a lot of attention for several useful applications such as semiconductor devices and structural materials under severe conditions because of its outstanding electronic properties as well as high physical and chemical stabilities. However, it is difficult to fabricate meso- A nd macropores in SiC because of its inertness. In this study, macroporous SiC with a pore size of several micrometers was fabricated by anodizing SiC with point defects which were formed by high-energy Si(II) ion irradiation. This is because irradiated SiC has an electrochemical activity caused by the combination of irradiation-induced defects and dopants. This result suggests that the control of lattice defects is a promising strategy for the surface processing of SiC. We propose that this study gives a new prospect of the electrochemical activation of SiC and opens various fields of its application.